All of those Ford truck commercials have apparently put the acting bug in Toby Keith.
The country-music superstar will hit the silver screen this fall — around Labor Day, he thinks — in his first movie-starring role as a struggling singer/songwriter in the film "Broken Bridges."
"This movie thing is creative. It's the most creative thing I've done in years," Keith said Wednesday by phone from Los Angeles, where he was, in fact, filming a new Ford commercial.
And that's saying a lot for a man who has written or co-written every song he's recorded during the past decade as one of country music's top-selling artists.
Keith will be in Salt Lake City on Saturday on his "Big Throwdown II Tour," which kicked off Jan. 20 in Portland, Ore.
But as Keith learned during his six weeks of filming outside Atlanta, making movies is much different than performing for tens of thousands of screaming fans or hawking pickup trucks on the small screen.
"I spent my whole career selling myself. . . . I looked straight into the camera and sold myself."
In "Broken Bridges," however, Keith stars not as himself but as Bo Price, the ex of actress Kelly Preston and father of her child. The film centers on Price trying to bond with his daughter through music, teaching her to sing and play the guitar.
"That's more along what the story is, as opposed to me being onstage singing," Keith said.
Keith admits that he initially felt a little out of his element with Preston ("Sky High," "Jerry Maguire" and wife of John Travolta) and veteran star Burt Reynolds (most recently seen in the remake of "The Longest Yard"). (Keith's friend Willie Nelson, his duet partner on his hit song "Beer for My Horses," makes a cameo appearance in the movie as well.)
"It's really . . . it helped open me up really well," Keith said. "It's intimidating a little bit, (but) once you get your feet on the ground" it's not that bad.
The film's soundtrack features several songs by Keith and is being produced by his label, Show Dog Records. Keith is also gearing up for the April 11 release of a new album.
Those in the Delta Center Saturday night will hear Keith's first release from that upcoming album, "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" — about, according to its author, how a person works all week with no respect from his boss or co-workers, but, come Friday night, things change.
Of course, fans will also see Keith perform the songs that have made him famous, including, "Should've Been a Cowboy," "How Do You Like Me Now?" "Who's Your Daddy?" and "American Soldier."
"Those are the songs that people pay to come to see," Keith said.
Utahns who saw Keith during his last stopover in Utah will see a similar show to that November 2004 performance. The production elements will be the same — "We spent too much money producing it," Keith says — as will the set list, for the most part.
But Keith promises that no one will be disappointed. "It's a phenomenal show. It's first-rate."
If you go
What: Toby Keith, Joe Nichols, Danielle Peck, Scotty Emerick
Where: Delta Center
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $44.75-$59.75
Phone: 325-7328
Web: www.ticketmaster.com or www.deltacenter.com
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com